Use of remote sensing in characterization and management of Dhamni micro-watershed of Chandrapur district of Maharashtra

Soil resource characterization of Dhamni micro-watershed in Chandrapur district of Maharashtra was carried out using IRS-1D LISS-III data in conjunction with field survey and ancillary data. The study indicates that nearly 84.2 per cent of the total geographical area of the watershed is under cultivation. Forest (mainly degraded) occupy only 4.5 per cent area Whereas wasteland with scrub cover 9.4 per cent area of the watershed. Nine soil series were tentatively identified and mapped as soil series association in to five mapping units. These soils belong to order Inceptisol, Vertisol and Mollisol. Except the soils of wasteland with scrub, other soils are moderately suitable for pigeonpea and soybean and have average to good productivity.     

Use of a problem-oriented database for statistical analysis of the hydrochemical characteristics of the redox layer of the Black Sea

A problem-oriented database (PODB) was developed for the statistical analysis of the hydrochemical characteristics of the redox layer of the Black Sea. The paper describes the features of the PODB, including the algorithm of interpolation and the location of the levels of the appearance and disappearance of hydrochemical parameters (the so-called onset levels) based on Akima’s spline. The application of the PODB allowed us to obtain a series of biogeochemical estimates, in particular, (1) to reveal the constancy of the vertical gradients of the hydrochemical parameters at selected density levels; (2) to calculate the seasonal variability of the degree of manifestation of the phosphate minimum in the near-shore and open sea areas; and (3) to calculate the interannual variability of the level of the disappearance of the hydrogen sulfide, ammonium, total manganese, and methane, as well as the oxygen content in the cold intermediate layer, and to find out their relations with the climatic variations.     

Use of SPOT 5 and IKONOS imagery for mapping biocenoses in a Tunisian Coastal Lagoon (Mediterranean Sea)

Mapping marine biocenoses is an efficient method for providing useful data for the management and conservation of Mediterranean lagoons. Fused images from two satellites, SPOT 5 and IKONOS, were tested as management tools for identifying specific ecosystems in the El Bibane lagoon, situated in southern Tunisia near the Libyan border. The objectives of this study were to provide a precise map of the entire El Bibane lagoon using fused images from SPOT 5 and to compare fused images from SPOT 5 and IKONOS over a test-area. After applying a supervised classification, pixels are automatically classified in four classes: low seagrass cover, high seagrass cover, superficial mobile sediments and deep mobile sediments. The maps of the lagoon revealed and confirmed an extremely wide distribution of seagrass meadows within the lagoon (essentially Cymodocea nodosa; 19 546 ha) and a large area of mobile sediments more or less parallel to the shore (3 697 ha). A direct comparison of overall accuracy between SPOT 5 over the entire area, SPOT 5 over the test-area and IKONOS over the test-area revealed that these tools provided accurate mapping of the lagoon environment (83.25%, 85.91% and 73.41% accuracy, respectively). The SPOT 5 images provided greater overall accuracy than the IKONOS image, but did not take into account the heterogeneous spatial structure of the seagrasses and sediments present in the lagoon environment. Although IKONOS imagery provided lower overall accuracy than SPOT 5, it proved a very useful tool for the mapping of heterogeneous structures as it enabled the patchiness of formations to be better taken into account. The use of SPOT 5 and IKONOS fused images appears to be very promising for completing the mapping of lagoons in other regions and countries of the Mediterranean Sea.     

Binary star statistics: the mass ratio distribution for very wide systems

The distribution of mass ratios for a sample of common proper motion (CPM) binaries is determined and compared with that of 798 visual binaries (VB's) studied earlier, in hopes of answering the question: Can the member stars of these systems have been drawn at random from the normal initial mass function for single stars? The observed distributions peak strongly toward q = 1·0 for both kinds of systems, but less strongly for the CPM's than for the VB's. Due allowance having been made for assorted observational selection effects, it seems quite probable that the CPM's represent the observed part of a population drawn at random from the normal IMF, while the VB's are much more difficult to interpret that way and could, perhaps, result from a formation mechanism that somewhat favors systems with roughly equal components.     

Analysis of Design Characteristics of Snake-Type Atmospheric Probes (Vetrolets) for Studying the Atmosphere of Venus

In Russia, work aimed at designing a spacecraft for the long-term exploration of Venus is currently underway as part of the VENUS-D project. The R&D work proposes the concept of a snake-type atmospheric probe intended for exploring the atmosphere of Venus. This article describes the principles of flight, considers the main design features and engineering characteristics of the probes, and provides recommendations for engineering solutions.     

Peculiarities of Polluted Water Spreading from a Submarine Source in Stratified Coastal Environment

We study the spreading of wastewaters from an underwater source in a stratified coastal environment using the results of satellite monitoring and mathematical modeling. The problem is considered as applied to deepwater discharge in the region of Golubaya Bay of the Black Sea near Sebastopol. The main factors preventing upwelling of pollution to the sea surface are analyzed on the basis of a numerical model. It is shown that peculiarities of wastewater spreading depend on the character of stratification and velocity of the background current. The main factor influencing the uplift of these waters to the surface is the existence of water layers with high vertical gradients of water density. We reveal the structure of the wastewater field consisting of a plume and a jet extended in the direction of the background current, which is located in the density interface. If stratification is weak, the plume may reach the sea surface and form a local region of water pollution, which is recorded in multispectral satellite images. It is found that the mass of polluted waters is characterized by negative anomalies of temperature and salinity.